"I wish I was 17," Theo said dreamily. His hands were behind his head and he laid on his bed normally, staring at the blank ceiling above him. The dirty blonde daydreamed, his fantasies filled with different competitions, him winning each one, whether it be by trophy, certificate, or medal.
"I would be the best Triwizard champion anyone has ever seen," Theo boasted.
"You wouldn't even have a chance," Draco snorted. Theo's hopeful smile fell and he glared at the boy across the room, then looked at the girl laying next to him. Thalia just rested her head in the crook of Draco's neck and shrugged casually, while Draco had his arm wrapped around her waist.
"I'm just saying, the probability of you winning is so low," Draco pointed out, crushing Theo's dreams even more.
"Don't say that," Thalia snapped. "Theo, I'm sure that you would be a nice representative for Hogwarts."
Theo grinned at the brunette's compliment but Draco just had to cut in again. "Like you'd ever become a Hogwarts representative, much less win the tournament. Diggory's entered, he's a total shoo-in compared to you."
"You're such an arse," Thalia scoffed. Theo sent her a grateful smile and Thalia simply smiled back.
Their friendship was the kind that didn't need many words but they were unnaturally comfortable with each other. One time, Theo laid across Thalia's desk in Potions and she got up and laid on top of him.
If Theodore was being honest, he always had a small crush on Thalia. She was gorgeous, cunning, smart, and kind, it was really hard not to fancy her. Not to mention, marrying a pureblood Slytherin with a good name, like Forthing, would do wonders for the Nott family.
Although Notts were known to be powerful purebloods, their wealth would never compare to the Forthings, who were practically loaded.
And like any hormonal teenage boy, he liked her much more than platonically. But there was always Draco, who would be better than Theo in every way, making the dirty blonde much more insecure than his group of friends would ever know.
"Just saying," Draco said defensively. "I'm gonna go find some first years to bully. Come on, Lia."
"I don't want to," Thalia refused. Draco raised his eyebrows on shock.
Thalia didn't mind bullying but she also didn't like it, but if Draco liked doing it, she would at least pretend she liked doing it. "Professor Snape advised I lay low for a while," the brunette explained, hoping that was a good enough excuse.
"Whatever," Draco shrugged, pretending to not be offended. "Stay with Theo. I could care less. I'll just go with Crabbe and Goyle."
He removed himself from Thalia and they both left his bed. Draco left the boys dorm with loud stomps and Thalia walked over to Theodore's bed.
The dark blonde scooted to one side of the bed and Thalia slipped under the covers. Theo knew he couldn't control his bodily urges if something happened so he opted for moving towards the edge of his bed.
Thalia frowned as the warm body heat shifted away and she shifted around so they were closer to each other. "Who do you think the Triwizard champions are going to be?"
"Well Diggory's the only competent one putting his name in so it's probably going to be him," Theo guessed. "Then there's Viktor bloody Krum, but I'm not sure about Beauxbatons."
"Do you fancy any girls?"
Theo was surprised by the change in discussion and his voice cracked. "Y-yeah, I fancy a girl."
"Ohhh," Thalia gasped, "do tell." Theodore remained silent and tried his best not to flinch as Thalia reached over and started to play with his hair.
He'd grown it out this year so it was more floppy and soft compared to when he had nicely shaven hair. If he'd known that Thalia would play with his hair if he'd grown it out, Theo would've grown it out a long time ago.
"Theo, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Thalia cooed softly. "I wouldn't tell anyone."
Theo hesitantly gazed into her piercing green eyes and smiled at her.
"Not even Draco?"
Thalia smiled back and leaned over so her face was hovering over Theodore's. "Not even Draco," she assured quietly.
Theo didn't have to confirm or deny any of Thalia's suspicions because she somehow knew which ones were true. "Y'know, Draco would kill me," Theo mumbled, his voice just loud enough for her to hear.
"He doesn't have to know," Thalia whispered. She leaned closer until their faces were inches away and Theo turned his head before their lips could touch.
"Draco would find out," Theo sighed. "You know what happened to the rest of your relationships. I don't get a free pass because I'm his best friend."
"He can't control me forever," Thalia laughed.
Theo reached up and tucked a strand of her brunette hair behind her ear. "He controls you now," the dirty blonde pointed out. "I think in a few years, after we graduate Hogwarts, we could do something."
"A few years, huh?" Thalia pulled away and flipped over so she was laying next to Theo on the bed. "D'you think you'll still fancy me after we graduate?"
"I think I'll always fancy you," he answered honestly. "Listen, I'm glad the feelings are mutual right now, super glad actually. But do you mind if we just forget this whole thing ever happened?"
"What?"
"It's just, I wouldn't want Draco to find out and I don't really see why either of us would bring it up again," Theo rambled. "I just don't think this whole thing would be something to brag about."
"Oh," Thalia said. She nodded her head and shifted away a bit. "Yeah, no, I totally get it. I don't think it's that important to talk about anyways-"
"I didn't mean it like that, Lia, you know that," Theo sighed.
"No, it's fine, really. I don't think we have to talk about it again," Thalia shrugged. "Do you wanna go down to the Great Hall now?"
"Yeah," the blonde agreed.
-----
(a/n: a different version of this scene is in 'you are loved' by me so go read that)
"Harry Potter," Blaise breathed out. "D'you guys think he's a cheat?"
He rolled the two dice and intently watched as the objects hit the board. Blaise let out a groan and moved a metal figurine of a shoe to the corner of the board, which was labelled 'jail.'
"Oh most definitely," Theo chuckled. He put a half-finished cigarette to his lips and blew out a puff of smoke, then handed it to Thalia. "He's such a bloody attention seeker. Every year, he's gotta do something. Just so happens that this year, he wants to be Triwizard champion."
"'Course he's a cheat. I still don't understand why we have to play these muggle games," Draco huffed angrily. He grabbed the two dice off the board and played with them in his hand before rolling it onto the board.
"Because they're fun," Thalia insisted. "I don't know if Potter's a cheat but I know that Diggory's the real Hogwarts rep." She blew out a smaller puff of smoke and Draco moved his piece onto the board. He handed Theo 5 little papers, who accepted it happily. The platinum blonde grabbed the cigarette from Thalia and passed it back to Theo.
"You sound like a blood-traitor when you play muggle games, Lia. Theo, don't let her have that shit," Draco scowled. "It's horrible for your lungs."
"Merlin, Dray, you sound like my father," Thalia scoffed. She rolled the dice and watched as 5 dots showed face-up. The brunette took a hat figurine and moved it over to a purple property, then sat back down.
The four Slytherins sat in the boys dorm in a square formation with a large colorful board in front of them. The board was filled with little figurines and neatly stacked cards, while outside of the board had piles of mini colored dollars.
"You've got to pay me 25 dollars," Blaise said suddenly. "Is that a lot in American money?"
"I don't bloody know," Thalia huffed. "I don't have to pay you, you're in jail. Read the directions."
Theodore grabbed the packet from the open box where extra pieces laid and he flipped through the papers. "No," he said while exhaling smoke. "It says right here that you've got to pay a person even when they're in jail."
Blaise smirked at the girl seated across the board from him and Thalia folded her arms over her chest. "Come on, Lia, you've got to pay him," Theo sighed.
"No," Thalia refused, "it was my property first!"
"Well it's not your property anymore!" Blaise shouted.
"Thalia, just give Blaise the $25," Theo urged.
"I will not give my money to a criminal!" Thalia screamed.
"That's not how you... PLAY!" Blaise yelled. Thalia grabbed the cigarette back from Theo, only for it to be pulled from her lips.
"I told you, you can't have that shit. It's bad for your lungs," Draco scolded.
"Shut the fuck up, Draco! You don't get to talk when you stole the boardwalk from me!" Thalia shot back.
"What did you expect?! The boardwalk is the most powerful property that makes you pay $50 when you land on it, so of course I'm going to take it!" Draco screamed. "It's valuable! It's like this boardwalk card is the Malfoy Manor and the rest of these properties are the rest of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. I need this card!"
Theo sighed at the bickering children and shut the pamphlet. He fell backwards so his back was on the carpeted floor and he was staring at the blank ceiling. "This is what I get for wanting to play Mono-plie," he huffed.
"It's Monopoly, dipshit!" Draco screamed. "I hate muggles but at least I know how to pronounce their idiotic names for creations!"
"Funny how you know Monopoly but it took you four years to pronounce Animagus correctly!" Thalia cut in. Blaise broke out into laughter and Draco's face flushed red.